Apparatus for feeding and collating cigarettes and other small articles



4Aug. 26 1924.

W. E. MOLINS APrARATUs FonA 'mamma AND coLLATING CIGARETTES AND o'maa SMALL AR'rrcLns Filed Aug. 2o, 1923 Cil Patented Aug. 26, 1924.

`UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER EVERETT MOLINS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS IFOR- EEEDING- AND COLLATING GIGARETTES AND OTHER SMALL ARTICLES.

Application filed. August 20, 1923.

To all whom t muy concern:

Be it known that I, TALTER Evnsnfrr Hemus, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in London, England, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for Feeding and Collating Cigarettes and Other Small Articles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for feeding and collating cigarettes and other small articles and has for its object to provide an improved form of apparatus adapted to collate the articles into batches of a required number and deliver them to mechanism for forming them into bundles for packing into boxes for example.

The invention is particularly applicable for use with cigarette feeding apparatus of the known kind wherein the cigarettes are delivered from a hopper by means of a fluted drum or cylinder and it will, therefore, be described with reference to such apparatus.

According to the invention the fiuted drum of the feeding apparatus is provided with peripheral grooves in which forks attached to a horizontal cigarette carrying plate engage, the arrangement being such that as the drum revolves the forks serve to lift the cigarettes from the flutes and to pass them on to said plate. The other end of the plate preferably terminates at the apparatus destined to form the cigarettes'into bunches of superposed layers for transfer into suitable receptacles.

Above the plate a continuous traveling chain conveyor is fitted having projecting members adapted to make Contact with the cigarettes on the plate and to move them along said plate. This conveyor may be so arranged and timed as to move any desired number of cigarettes along the plate as soon as they are lifted from the drum and its projecting men'ibers are spaced so as to travel faster than the peripheral speed of the drum.

At the other end of the plate the cigarettes are removed therefrom in afdirection substantially at right angles to the first named conveyor, by means of a transfer conveyor.

The conveyor pieces on this transfer conveyor are formed in such a manner that they pass through the plate `carrying the cigarettes and sweep the latter on to the conveyor, as hereinafter described.

To enable the invention to be fully underi Serial No. 658,479.

stood, it will now be described by reference to theaccompanying drawings in which lifig. 1 is a-sectional side elevation of one form of apparatus constructed according to the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of same.

Fig. 3 is a view of a conveyor piece on the transfer conveyor drawn to a larger scale.

Fig. l is a section on the line A-B, Fig. 1, drawn to a larger scale.

, rlhe cigarettes are fed from a hopper (not shewn) by a tinted wheel or drum 2, a hold back roller 3 being fitted in the known manner.

Peripheral grooves 4i are formed in the wheel 2 and a plate (3, suitably mounted on the machine frame G, is fitted with prongs 5 which enter these grooves and as the wheel rotates in the direction of the arrow, the prongs lift the cigarettes from the flutes and cause them to lie in a row on the plate G.

Above the plate 6 an endless conveyor 7 is mounted on a frame 8 carrying conveyor pieces 9, the frame 8 having a vertical slot 8 in which one of the conveyor sprocketwheels 10 is adjnstably mounted. The conveyor pieces 9 travel at a higher speed than the cigarettes, in the direction of the arrow C and gather the cigarettes into groups D as shewn and pass them along the plate 6 towards the delivery end.

The number of cigarettes in a group is determined by the speed at which the fluted wheel 2 rotates and a floating plate 11 is fitted over the cigarettes on the plate 6 to control them during transit.

A transfer conveyor having conveyor pieces 21 working between guides 16 is arranged to run at right angles to the conveyor 7 in the direction of the arrow K and the plate 6 is fitted with an extension 13 extending to the middle of the transfer conveyorI a plate 11i, forming a continuation of the plate 13 being mounted on the opposite side of the transfer conveyor, the two plates 18, 1d forming a bridge with a narrow slit 11i between them. The conveyor 7 delivers the groups of cigarettes on tok the bridge piece.

At the delivery end of the conveyor 7 two quadrants 12 are rotatably mounted and are so set that as they rotate they form a continuation of the path swept out by the conveyor pieces 9 and hold the cigarettes in position on the bridge plates 13, 14, until the transfer conveyor removes them.

lith the above described apparatus, the conveyor 7 groups the cigarettes on the plate 6 as they are delivered from the wheel 2 and carries them along and delivers them on to the bridge piece formed by the plates 13, lli. The transfer conveyor pieces 2l, passing through the slot 14a in the bridge piece push each group from the bridge on to the conveyor' between the guides 16 and carry them along to the packing apparatus.

If it is desired to pack cigarettes in two super-posed rows then two sets of apparatus as above described are necessary, each delivering to a common transfer conveyor'.

In the example illustrated it has been assumed that one row of cigarettes has already been delivered to the transfer conveyor as shewn in Fig. 2. The cigarettes removed from the bridge pieces 13, 1-1 will thus fall on the cigarettes already in position on the transfer conveyor so that the latter after passing` through the bridge carries two rows of cigarettes superposed.

Obviously the apparatus may bev multiplied and arrange-d to deliver and convey any desired number of superposed rows.

Conveyor pieces 21 of the transfer conveyor aregshaped as shewn in Fig. 3, the slots 18 being provided to allow the pieces to pass through the slot 14a between the bridge pieces 1 3, 14. y

IV hen it is desired to have a large number of cigarettes in a group, the end sprocket wheel 19 of the conveyor 7 may be fitted with two fingers 20 as indicated in Fig. l. These fingers sweep a number of cigarettes, generally about half the required group, along'the plate G in advance of the conveyor piece 9. This prevents the cigarettes from jamming at the fiutes of thefwheel 2 owing to their number and the other' half group pushed by the piece 9 quickly catches up the advance half group.

If only one row of cigarettes is required in a packet, the bridge plates and the slot in the conveyor piece may be dispensed with, the cigarettes being fed from the plate 6 directly on tothe machine bed of the transfer conveyor, the latter being fitted with conveyor pieces of suitable size to venable a single row of cigarettes to be delivered to the filling machine or the like.

Having thus described the nature of my said invention and the best mean-s I know of carrying the same into practical effect, I claim :-y

1. In apparatus for feeding articles such as cigarettes and in combination a hop-per,

a moving conveyor adjacent to the discharge opening of the hopper, a plate having forked ends engaging grooves in the moving conveyor, a second moving conveyor arranged above the plate and projections on the second conveyor adapted to engage articles passed from the hopper to the plate. 2. In apparatus for feedingarticles such as cigarettes and in combination a hopper, a fluted l drum having peripheral grooves rotatably mounted adjacent to the discharge opening of the hopper, a plate having forked eudswhich engage in the peripheral grooves of the drum, an endless moving conveyor arranged above the plate and projections on the conveyor adapted to engage articles passed from the hopper to the plate.

In apparatus for feeding articles such as cigarettes and in combination, a hopper, a moving conveyor adjacent to the discharge opening of the hopper, a plate having forked ends engaging in grooves in the conveyor, a second moving conveyor arranged above the plate, projections on the second conveyor adapt-ed to engage articles passed from the hopper to the platen a third conveyor moving below the end of the plate and at right angles to the direction of travel of the articles on the plate. a slot-ted bridge piece arranged adjacent to the end of the plate and above the third conveyor, and pusher pieces on the third conveyor adapted to pass through the slot in the bridge piece.

4. In apparatus for feeding articles such as cigarettes and in combination, a hopper, a fluted drum having peripheral grooves rotatably mounted adjacent to the` discharge opening of the hopper, a plate having forked ends engaging the peripheral grooves in the drum, an endless mov-ing conveyor arranged above the plate, projections on the conveyor adapted to engage articles passed from the hopper to the plate, a second endless moving conveyor moving below the end of the plate and at right angles to the direction of travel of the articles on the plate, a slotted .u

bridge piece arranged adjacent to the end of the plate and above the second conveyor and pusher pieces on the second conveyor yadapted to pass through the slot in the bric ge vieee.

p 5. In apparatus for feeding articles such as cigarettes and in combination, a hopper, a fluted drum having peripheral grooves rotatably mounted adjacent to the discharge opening of the hopper, a plate having forked ends engaging the peripheral grooves in the drum, an endless moving conveyor arranged above the plate, sprocket wheels on which the conveyor is mounted, projections on the conveyor adapted to engage articles passed from the hopper to the plate, a second endless moving conveyor moving below the end of the plate and at right angles to the direction of travel of the articles on the plate,

a slotted bridge piece arranged adjacent to the end of the plate and above the second conveyor, pusher pieces on the second conveyor adapted to pass through the slot in the bridge piece and extensions on the sprocket wheel of the first conveyor adjacent to the bridge piece -forming a continuation of the path swept out by the projections on said conveyor.

6. ln apparatus for feeding articles such as cigarettes and in combination, a hopper, a tluted drum having peripheral grcoves roe tatably mounted adjacent to the discharge opening of the hopper, a` plate having forked ends engaging the peripheral grooves in the drum, an endless moving conveyor arranged above the plate, sprocket wheels on which the conveyor' is mounted, projections on the con` veyor adapted to engage articles passed from the hopper to the plate, a second endless moving conveyor moving below the end ot' the plate and at right angles to the direction ot travel of the articles on the plate, a slotted bridge piece arranged adjacent to the end ot' the plate and above the second conveyor, pusher pieces on the second conveyor adapted to pass through the slot in the bridge piece, extensions on the sprocket wheel of the tirst conveyor adjacent to the bridge piece forming a continuation ot the path swept out by the projections on said conveyor, and tingers on the sprocket wheel of the first conveyor adjacent to the iuted drum for sweeping articles along the plate in advance of the projections on said conveyor.

7. In apparatus ior feeding articles such as cigarettes and in combination, a hopper, a iiuted drum having peripheral grooves rotatably mounted adjacent to the discharge opening of the hopper, a plate having forked ends engaging the peripheral grooves in the drum, an endless moving conveyor arranged above the plate, sprocket wheels on which the conveyor is mounted, projections on the conveyor adapted to engage articles passed from the hopper to the plate, a second endless moving conveyor moving below the end or' the plate and at right angles to the direction or' travel of the articles on the plate, a slotted bridge piece arranged adjacent to the end of the plate and above the secondy conveyor, pusher pieces on the second conveyor adapted to pass through the slot in the bridge piece, extensions on lthe sprocket wheel of the first conveyor adjacent to thc bridge piece forming a continuation oli' the path swept out by the projections on said conveyor, lingers on the sprocket wheel oi the first conveyor adjacent to the luted drum lor sweeping articles along the plate in advance of the projections on said conveyor and an adjustable stop on the bridge piece with means ior preventing the articles trom rising from the bridge.

8. ln apparatus Ator YFeeding articles such as cigarettes in combination a hopper, a moving conveyor adjacent to the discharge opening ol said hopper, said conveyor being provided with circmn'terential grooves, means engaging in said grooves for removing articles from said conveyor, a second moving conveyor arranged above said means and projections on said second conveyor adapted to engage articles removed Yfrom said hopper.

lin testimony whcreo'l" I have signed my name to this specilication.

WALTER EVERETT MOLl'NS. 

